Q&A with Dr. Cynthia Johnson

This new facility is a game changer and will support the communities of Pinellas by advancing our global competitiveness, and will create opportunities for entrepreneurship, diversify our industries, and will ultimately strengthen the community’s resilience.

- Dr. Cynthia Johnson, Director, Pinellas County Economic Development

Tell me about the ARK Innovation Center. What does it mean for our area to have a high-impact incubation center like this?

The ARK Innovation Center is a new tech incubator built by Pinellas County in partnership with the U.S. Economic Development Administration, the City of St. Petersburg, the Tampa Bay Innovation Center, and ARK Invest. The new facility is operated by our partner, the Tampa Bay Innovation Center (TBIC), and is focused on growing early-stage companies that are advancing disruptive technologies in the areas of Internet of Things (IoT), Energy, FinTech, Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain and other technology areas. Pinellas County remains committed to helping open pathways for startups and entrepreneurs and the new incubator will host a variety of tech entrepreneurs, students, scientists, working on innovative projects in the space’s new collaborative workspaces, offices, and event spaces. This new facility is a game changer and will support the communities of Pinellas by advancing our global competitiveness, and will create opportunities for entrepreneurship, diversify our industries, and will ultimately strengthen the community’s resilience.

What are the major gaps for the entrepreneurial community, currently?  

Entrepreneurs are facing different gaps, from challenges in finding skilled and talented workers, to experiencing dramatic surges in commercial rents, increased labor costs due to wage increases, and increased costs of goods sold (supplies).

How are economic development leaders working to fill those gaps? 

Pinellas County Economic Development and our economic development partners are laser focused on all of these areas of opportunity. We have been working closely with workforce partners to strengthen the talent pipeline, helping companies apply for workforce training grants and sourcing talent from education and training providers. With the increase in the cost of doing business, economic development leaders in the Tampa Bay region are focused on ways to support entrepreneurs with challenges where there is high impact, like commercial rents for startups. The ARK Innovation Center addresses some of these issues not only by providing access to competitive, affordable, office and lab space, but also access to the partnership, the mentors and professionals at the Center, technical assistance support and collaboration that comes from an incubator environment. Moreover, the ARK Innovation Center is part of a growing entrepreneurial community of support for entrepreneurs in Pinellas and beyond.

St. Petersburg was recently ranked as a top 10 city for entrepreneurship (#8). What are the factors that you see driving entrepreneurial interest and activity locally?

Traditionally, areas that have educated workforces have more startup growth, especially in industries that depend upon an educated workforce and that are located in high-amenity regions. We’re so fortunate to have a high quality of living in the Pinellas County combined with a strong local culture of entrepreneurship, and a business eco-system that embraces startups with both technical support and venture capital.  Locally, we also have a transformative educational system. St. Petersburg College, Eckerd College, and the University of South Florida have prioritized bringing talented faculty members and business partners who are involved in local start-ups to train students who may become entrepreneurs and employees of entrepreneurs. Collectively, we continue to create the ideal business climate for entrepreneurial development.